She may be starring in a new movie called Stealth, but it didn't take any sneaky tactics to get her to open up about her boyfriend, her bad-boy phase, and her turn as Orlando's onscreen love.

Initially, Jessica Biel seems to personify the stereotypical Hollywood beauty when she arrives for her Cosmo interview at one of Santa Monica's trendiest restaurants. Her long, shiny hair is perfectly styled, her soft makeup appears meticulously applied, and her off-the-shoulder Juicy Couture top and jeans, and Dolce and Gabbana kitten heels create the standard hipster uniform. But then something happens that makes it clear she's not your average diva starlet: She discovers a little black bug swimming in the sea of cheese topping her enchilada, but there's no shrieking, no sending the food back, no demanding to see the chef. Instead, the 23-year-old actress just…laughs. "I usually get a hair," she jokes, moving the insect to the side of her plate before chowing down again.

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It's that kind of accessible attitude that has made Jessica one of the most popular young actresses in Tinseltown, but it's her ability to reinvent her image that's made her so successful. After a five-year stint playing Mary, a preacher's daughter, on The WB's wholesome family drama 7th Heaven (a role she landed at age 14), the Boulder, Colorado, native decided to shake her Grated image by taking the part of a strung-out coed in The Rules of Attraction, and then playing a badass vampire slayer in Blade: Trinity and a fighter pilot in this month's Stealth. In October, Jessica will be trying her hand at romantic comedy, portraying Orlando Bloom's girlfriend in Elizabethtown, directed by Cameron Crowe, who had this to say about his decision to cast her: "When she kisses Orlando, you get a contact buzz just watching her."

Offscreen, Jessica's been smooching up-and-coming hottie actor Chris Evans, her boyfriend of more than two years (he plays a superhero in the Fantastic Four, out this summer). Here, she dishes about all the reasons she's in 7th Heaven for real these days.

Cosmo: You play a tough-girl fighter pilot in Stealth. Did you have to train really hard to buff up for the role?

Jessica: I was in the gym six days a week for two hours a day, doing cardio and weight lifting. And I ate no sugar, dairy, flour, or salt. But I'd have a cheat day on Sunday, when I could have whatever I wanted. I'd get a sundae, a brownie, chocolate cake, cheesecake, a burger, and French fries.

C: All in one day?

J All in one meal!

C: Have you ever struggled with body-image issues?

J: Absolutely. I struggle with it every day. Shooting the bikini scene [in Stealth] was stressful. Everyone has areas they're not comfortable with, and mine are my bum, thighs, and legs. So having those areas exposed…it was like "Okay, I'm gonna try to be cool with it."

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C: Is it true that you have it written into your contracts that you won't do nude scenes?

J: Yes. I don't feel comfortable doing nudity. I used a body double in this little indie, London, because they wanted a close-up of a breast and a bottom, and I didn't feel comfortable. I thought, That's for my bedroom and my man, not for everyone else. I had to pick out the body double, and it was a really bizarre experience. I felt like a man. I wasn't talking to the models or getting to know them. I was just assessing their bodies. There are so many shapes of breasts. I never knew. You're just used to what yours look like.

C: Speaking of good bodies, what was it like working with Orlando in Elizabethtown?

J: He has this youthful, sweet energy to him. He's very unaware of all the commotion around him, and he's very unaffected, which is nice. He'd just be all sweaty, chasing his dogs around, running after them in the grass.

C: Is your real-life boyfriend, Chris, a romantic?

J: Yes. When I turned 21, I actually awoke to find my bed covered in rose petals. In the middle of the night, he had pulled apart at least 24 roses in all different colors and sprinkled the petals everywhere. He's definitely a keeper.

C: What sweet things do you like to do for him?

J: I love to take photographs of him and his dog, East. We call him "our" dog now. He's this 75-pound, half-English, half-American bulldog. And I cook for Chris when he's working hard. When he comes home, I'll have dinner ready. It's old-fashioned and fun, and I feel kind of homemakery and great doing it.

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C: Do the two of you ever talk about getting married?

J: We always talk about it. We both want to be married, and we both want to have children. But we're not engaged, so the rumors are false…so far.

C: What's something annoying about guys in a relationship?

J: Boys don't know what they want. I'll say, "I want to go on a picnic. I want there to be wine and a blanket, and I want there to be a sunset." And Chris is usually more like, "I don't really know [what I want to do]."

C: Looking back on all of your past relationships, would you say you have a type?

J: Well, I love somebody who can make me laugh and be a goofball. I think it's incredibly sexy if a guy can look uncool and completely not care. Also, somebody who likes to show affection. I show a lot of affection. I'm a very big fan of PDA. I'll do it anywhere. If I see a couple making out in public, I'm always like "Awww. Can I join?" [Laughs]

C: Did you ever go through a bad-boy phase?

J: I had my bad-boy moment in my teens. I'll never do that again. It wasn't pleasant, and I learned my lesson. It was sexy and mysterious, and it's like "Look how cool they are," but it's just not worth it. He was lying to me and accusing me of cheating—but then I realized he was the one cheating. He was putting it on me and making me feel like shit. I had woman. I will kick a man [like that] to the curb. But then three years later, I was still with him. And then it finally just smacked me in the face and I was like I'm done. I'm over it.

C: You completed a year and a half at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Why did you leave before graduating?

J: I felt very scared that I was gonna be forgotten about [in Hollywood]. Looking back, I wish I would've just gotten it done with. It was hard watching my friends graduate without me. I still keep in touch with five best friends from school. Two are coming to visit next week. I love those girls.

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C: Did you like college?

J: I really enjoyed myself. It was my first time being around kids my age full-time since eighth grade [because I had been tutored on-set during high school], and I really needed it. I was really craving being a normal kid. I lived in the dorms. I went to the parties. I went to the games.

C: What kind of stuff do you do with your friends now?

J: I love to dance. I like to go out and have a good time and party with my friends, so I'll go to a club. For my birthday, we went to a karaoke bar in L.A.'s Koreatown. We got a private room, and it was really fun. I sang "To Be With You," by Mr. Big. I love to sing.

C: Any interests you would like to pursue in addition to acting?

J: I'd like to start writing scripts. I think I'd probably be inclined to write a very dark comedy or a tragic romance. As a kid, I used to write really dark stuff. I wrote stories about girls being sexually abused, which never happened to me. I wrote about death a lot. I wrote a horror story once. I was into the dark side of everything, maybe because my life was always pretty light. I was totally intrigued by the things that made other people uncomfortable.

C: Can you describe what would be a perfect day for you?

J: Waking up in my cabin in Colorado with my family around. There's a fire going and it's winter and my dad's outside plowing the driveway. Or watching Sex and the City reruns with my girlfriends, [sharing] chocolate and wine, or staying in bed with my boyfriend and just not having anything to do all day. Letting the dog sleep with his head on the pillow right between us, making the bed all gross and sweaty and full of dog hair. It sounds disgusting, but it's just great.

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